Throughout time, hair has evolved into the glorious movement it is now in 2018. For so long, black women have endured backlash and unjust treatment for wearing their natural hair. Their truth is being snatched and told that they are unprofessional. A place that is supposed to be a safe space has been inhabited by obvious discrimination.

We continue to make the mistake of not letting everyone be their true self. Many companies behind closed doors have turned black women away for their hair. Many have come up with different ways to tell black women that they can’t wear their hair because it’s “untamed.” It correlates to telling someone that ultimately, their true self is not good enough.

Below are a few testimonials from women in different industries all over the country. These testimonials are drawn from an Essence article called, “Black Women Speak Up About Their Struggles Wearing Natural Hair In The Workplace.”

“When I was working in financial services, I remember feeling like it was only work-appropriate to wear my naturally curly hair pulled back in a bun. It wasn’t something that was [expressly] stated, but there weren’t any other people in power positions that looked like me and wore their hair out, curly, kinky and free. I remember also feeling validated by all of the compliments I would receive when I would come into work with my hair blow dried straight.” -Wellness/Food Entrepreneur

“I feel very comfortable wearing my natural hair in any environment. I’ve been lucky enough to work among people whose job it is to celebrate and advocate for diversity. I haven’t always worn my hair in its natural state, and I give a lot of credit to my HBCU and an endless amount of natural hair YouTube tutorials for allowing to embrace the beauty of my hair, and teaching me how to style it.” -Non-Profit Civil Rights Activist

“For the first time in a while, I finally feel comfortable wearing my natural hair in the workplace. However, there are still some embedded conditions preventing me from truly wearing my natural hair in the office that I have issues breaking away from, like sporting my curl. Upon graduating I entered the world of corporate public relations, marketing, and social media and did not see women who looked like me. Not having representation in the workplace led me to want to alter my natural appearance to conform and fit in. I once wore my hair curly to the office and it was a topic of discussion for the whole day. I felt like I had to constantly explain my hair and its texture.” -Social Media Manager

These are only a couple of the countless stories(might I add that these are some of the lighter testimonials) of women speaking their truth whether it be good or bad.

It is extraordinary in its own way. It is an art. It takes on its own persona. Hair allows us as people to wear our own feelings at times. It can represent a chronic mood or even a new beginning. There are a variety of styles to choose from and they are all different in their own unique way. There are fros, wigs, weaves, braids, twists, locs, relaxed, etc. We haven’t even scratched the surface of styles nor history behind black hair as a movement.

Dating back to the times of the Egyptians, we learn that our hair is sacred in many ways(Alexa, google if the Egyptians were black…..and the verdict is THEY WERE). Often times, their hair represented royalty. During that time, many slaves and servants were not allowed to shave their heads or wear wigs. This suggests to us that shaving of the head and wearing wigs are a sign of upper echelon, the elite(“She’s Royal, Eyy, So Royal Eyy. I want you in my life.”, let me stop). And to my fellas, the Egyptians also had beard wigs. For all my brothers out here sporting the beard wig, you have some divine representation as well.

During today’s natural hair movement, many of the styles worn are free-flowing and energetic. To some, they are seen as unprofessional; a preconceived notion that the hair is not being taken care of. Far from the truth, many men and women of color have openly struggled with wearing their simple natural styles out in professional settings subjecting themselves to more pleasurable straight hairstyles. Kinky Curly or Straight, these styles are not meant to please the masses but to please the individual. We must come to a point where people start giving credit where it is due.

Here at NickyGotBundles, we believe that hair is an art form and should be treated as such. It should be embraced as one of the most powerful forms of self-expression. We pride ourselves on sticking to our core values; Providing top-notch customer service, quality hair, on-going consistency, and an authentic connection between company and client through blog posts and other personable tactics. To all my Conrad’s, thanks for making it this far and remember how beautiful you are. Please continue to support as we will be giving you real facts, opinions, and objections.